The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything
by austriantatious
Summary: Just a few months after moving to a new, strange country with make-believe creatures and other oddities, the headstrong Alice Liddell finds herself mixed up in the fairy tales when her sister, Lorina, is shanghaied just after Alice has a run in with a prestigious Pirate crew. Caught between her old life and a new world, Alice struggles to fit in and save her sister. AU
1. Pirated

**AN:** Someone stop me before I wreck the entire HnKnA archive. Warning for some OOCness and such, because it is an AU. Also don't worry about the background of each character and the setting just yet, because I'll explain **everything** in another chapter.  
I'm going to be revising and editing this later on, so expect some minor changes.

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A young girl drew herself up from the lonely corner in her cell and rubbed her throbbing head. This was definitely not a good day for her. Anyone looking from the outside in might wonder why such a girl would be locked up in jail.

This woman-to-be was blessed with beauty, and a strong will. A little taller than other girls her age, she was over 5'5 and had an exquisite, petite physique. Her hair was brown and straight, cascading down her back. The top of her head was usually decorated with a cute bow, symbolizing her still-remaining innocence. Her eyes were large and blue, complimenting her pale pink lips. Although her friends and family tried in vain to get her to wear lacey, form-fitting dresses to further compliment her lovely figure, she preferred pants and generally looser clothing.

Most considered her to be a rebellious teen, going against the stereotype that rich girls were supposed to be obedient towards their parents and more open towards potential suitors. She was more easygoing with her parents, constantly cracking jokes with her father and messing with her mother, and she certainly didn't participate in any opportunities to find a man to marry. _'We're living in the twentieth century.'_ her father remarked, _'We're not going to force you into a marriage! You do what you want, you hear?' _In fact, the adolescent had never gone on a date, although she'd been asked many times to dinner. She turned them down as politely as she could, expressing her discomfort in dating. If anything, she'd rather be friends with boys than have to think about kissing them, which might explain her somewhat violent nature. She ran a finger over the bump on her head and winced. That's right—that stupid General hit her over the head with the butt of his rifle when she wouldn't comply. But did he really expect her to just let him arrest her without a fight? Clearly, he wasn't very bright.

"I bet if he had the guts to fight me, I'd win," the teenager boasted smugly, inspecting her other injuries. She was found in the commons that morning, trying to brawl with some lowly aides on Captain Blood's crew. In her defense, they started it, talking smack about the townsfolk and whatnot. They even dared to wrongly accuse her sister, Lorina, of bribing her fiancé to marry her. _'She's too boring and too much of a goody-two shoes. Who'd want to marry _her_?'_ they taunted. Naturally, the girl had to defend her sister from such horrendous accusations. Immediately, she stepped up to the men and what began as a civil debate between a girl and a group of males turned into a nasty fist fight. How it happened, the girl couldn't quite remember, but she knew she got in a few good punches before the General stepped in and locked her up.

"Alice Liddell." The girl with the chocolate brown hair reluctantly looked up from her inspection and came face-to-face with Mary Gowland, one of the few people she liked talking to in town. He was interesting and nice, and he didn't seem to oppress her all the dang time, unlike some of the other adult figures around. Alice sighed at his judgmental stare and fell deep into thought.

Ever since she moved to the somnolent seaside borough, things weren't as they were supposed to be. She left her prestigious school and was forced to attend a public one with lower standards of education, which she wasn't very fond of, and she found out the whole area she moved to was like a haven for pirates. Sure, in this day and age most people wouldn't think pirates were still around, but apparently all the fairytales and myths she heard as a small child were true here, and the legend continued. Back in her old country, these things were unheard of. In this country, witches and wizards roamed the streets and had their own businesses and practices. Fairies claimed the forests as their domain, and there were people who were half animal, with tails and ears. Alice even came across Bigfoot's relative whilst exploring her vast new backyard. Her childhood home was isolated from the rest of the world, and dear Alice never fathomed moving to a place where the implausible existed.

It would definitely take some getting used to, her mother said, but Alice thought otherwise. That was roughly six months ago, and things haven't really changed, save for her sister falling in love with a man from a neighboring town. They worked together, and Lorina said she was instantly attracted. Alice saw the guy; she didn't think he was so good looking, but she supposed she and her sister had different views.

"Alice?" She withdrew herself from her thoughts and blinked.

"I suppose you're to be asking why I'm here?" she asked flatly, hugging her knees to her chest.

"It would be nice to know. I didn't think of you as being a troublemaker," he said incredulously, squatting down to her level on the floor. Her lips twitched in amusement upon seeing his growing beard up close. He said he wanted to try one out. She had to admit, it didn't look too bad.

"I was roughhousing with some of Captain Blood's men." Gowland's eyes darkened for a brief moment.

"I see. You shouldn't get mixed up in that sort of business, Alice. After all, you're still somewhat a newcomer; you don't quite grasp how things work around here. Besides, that man is insufferable, and I'm sure once he gets word of you messing around with his subordinates, he'll be dropping in town to see you."

Alice snorted, "Then let him! I want to see what this tough guy looks like, anyway." Gowland grimaced and stood up, pulling her with him.

"Come on, then. We'll get you out of here." They began to take leave of the jail when something struck Alice as odd.

"Hey… what are you doing here, anyway?" The older man rolled his eyes, dangling the keys in front of her face.

"My dear, virtually everyone and their mother heard what happened. I'll bet your younger sister, Edith, is furious. I can't say the same for your father… he's probably proud of your bravery. In any case, as soon as I heard it I asked my friend to let you go. He works here, and managed to convince the authorities to set you free."

Alice looked at the ground in embarrassment and squeaked out a small thanks, finally realizing the consequences of her actions. After a while, Gowland dropped her off at her home at the edge of town and she was greeted by her family. Immediately upon her arrival, Lorina rushed forward and pulled Alice into a bone-crushing hug while Edith stood in the background, glowering.

"Thank goodness you're okay! But look at all of these bruises and cuts!" She frowned in a frustratingly cute manner and gave her sister the puppy dog look. "I really wish you'd be more careful. Those men could've really hurt you, Alice."

Alice laughed and brushed away her sister's worries. "So what? I would've hit back even harder!" Lorina managed a small grin while their father came forward, clapping his injured daughter on the back.

"That's my girl! You sure showed those boys, from what I heard. I know it's morally wrong to encourage fighting, but I'm sure you had a good reason, right?" he winked and Alice laughed again, glancing at her older sister for a second.

"I did."

"I'll take your word for it, then. Come on; let's go have a celebratory feast!" He waved everyone back inside, and Alice's mother engaged in a conversation with Alice. Meanwhile, a few yards away happened to be a young man with odd animal-like features, such as rabbit ears, peering through his binoculars.

"Is that the girl?" He asked the men around him. One sporting a black eye nodded, groaning.

"That's her, all right. Alice Liddell. She's young and kind of tiny, but she's as fierce as a tiger." The rabbit man nodded in understanding, lowering the binoculars.

"I suppose I'll have to stop by tonight. Blood said he wants her by tomorrow morning." He explained, moving through the thrush to approach the gates. He had to guess her family was wealthy, as they were able to afford one of the more expensive estates in the area. The man sincerely hoped this Alice girl wasn't superficial or terribly rude. If she misbehaved when meeting Blood, things could end very badly for her.

The other men lingered by the gate while their superior strode up to the door, standing up tall and proud. Though his clothes were a little torn and faded in color, he certainly gave off an aura of authority. For now, anyway. He knocked on the door and patiently waited for someone to answer. A maid came to answer his call before going off to fetch the family, although they were still eating.

Lorina and Alice came to the door first, and the man with the rabbit ears turned red in awe at their beauty. He felt incredibly dowdy and unworthy of their presence, but he had a job to do.

"Good afternoon, ladies. My name is Elliot; Elliot March, Captain Blood's second-in-command. I came to speak on his behalf." The girl with the pin-straight brown hair gave an annoyed grumble, and Elliot recognized her as Alice.

"I don't want anything to do with that pansy, thank you very much," Alice retorted, about to close the door. Lorina gasped and grabbed it, holding it open. Elliot and Alice turned to her in surprise.

"Alice, don't you think you should here what this young man has to say? He came all this way." She argued, pleading to her stubborn younger sister. Elliot scratched shyly at his cheek. Alice gave him a look and pursed her lips.

"Fine, then. Start talking, bunny-boy."

"Yes, ma'am. You see, after the…" he threw a look over his shoulder at the group of men still by the gates, "incident you had with some members of our crew, Captain Blood insisted a meeting be held tomorrow morning—"

"Where at?" Alice interrupted, raising her eyebrow. Elliot averted his eyes.

"Uh… the Starbucks in town. He understands it's not very official, but he has his reasons."

"Oh. So he wants to chat over some lattes or something? He's even more of a pansy than I thought!" the girl commented absentmindedly, while Elliot turned red and Lorina stifled a chuckle.

"He said 8 AM would be a suitable time, if you will…"

Alice and Lorina exchanged glances, as if they were speaking to one another in their own minds, and finally Alice agreed. After a few more minutes of idle chatter, Elliot left to report the 'good news' to Blood, and Alice tromped up to her room.

"Man, this blows Popsicle stands!" Lorina smiled and ruffled her sister's hair affectionately before beginning to remove her jewelry and make-up.

"My, my. If you keep talking like that, I'll begin to think you're becoming a pirate yourself. Such sailor's talk."

Alice jumped on her bed and mumbled something about her inability to curse in front of the family. "Well… I don't know what you just said, but I suggest you get some sleep. You've had a rough day, Alice, and you need to get up tomorrow to meet Mr. Blood. Dress nice and cute, okay?" Lorina beamed. Alice lifted her head and gave a lame smile before crawling under the sheets. She was much too lazy to change into a nightgown. Sighing, Lorina got up and moved from her vanity mirror to switch off the light. She gently pulled the sheets closer to her drowsy sister's chest and bid goodnight, returning to her own bed on the opposite side of the room. After a good thirty minutes, both girls were fast asleep.

Morning came, and with it a big surprise. Alice woke up and saw her sister's bed empty, and messed up. She frowned, stumbling out of her bed and glanced around. "Lorina never forgets to make the bed…" she reminded herself. Pushing it aside, she turned to leave the room and bounded down the stairs, vigorously rubbing at her itching eyes. She didn't get a great night's sleep, as something kept waking her up. It sounded like talking, but she knew Lorina wouldn't be on the phone in the middle of the night. As Alice made her way to the kitchen, she noticed the lack of maids and butlers in the house. It was like everyone got up and left, leaving her behind.

"Hello?" She called nervously into the main hallway. She heard a choking sob resound from the living room and she quickly dashed inside, finding the whole family and staff gathered together. Her mother looked up, teary-eyed, and shouted.

"Alice! Thank God you're still here!" She ran forward and grabbed the confused girl by her shoulders, struggling to find her words.

"M-mom, what's going on?"

"It's Lorina…" her mother drew in a deep breath, though it did nothing to calm her anxiety. "She's been kidnapped!" Alice's world stopped turning, and a sick feeling stabbed at her nerves. The talking last night… wasn't talking after all. It was her older sister's muffled cries for help while her attacker took her from her slumber and hauled her out of the room.

"No… no way. Mom, she can't be—" Alice hyperventilated, shutting her eyes. "No! Please tell me the police are on the case!" This time her father answered yes, but somberly. He said they found nothing so far. They had been searching since the break of dawn. Devastated, Alice stumbled backwards and clutched her head, trying to piece together this odd puzzle. Who would kidnap her darling, sweet sister?

Her heart skipped a beat as she thought back to the bunny man from the day before, Elliot March, and Captain Blood. Suddenly things made sense. Without a word, she bolted out of the room and shoved open the front door, not bothering to slip on some shoes. She heard shouts and yells from within the house, but she couldn't stop. It was almost 8 and she had an appointment.

"I swear if that man kidnapped my sister, I will slaughter him!" she vowed, running through the streets to town. Her heart raced, matching her fast pace. She seethed, pushing past people without thought.

"I'll get you back, Lorina. You'll see."

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**AN:** So… yeah. I'm so sorry for making this; I was just inspired by many, many things. Also, I'm awful when it comes to writing in one point of view and such. I only began writing this because I have tomorrow off. The storm cut off our school's power supply and they called, saying we have a day off.


	2. Unlikely Alliances

**AN:** Thanks for the review, guest! It made me feel all warm and happy inside. Also, again note the OOCness of the characters thus far. I promise you, they'll change throughout the story. I just want to experiment different personalities, y'know?

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A flash of beige skin burst through the crowds, breaking apart chains of people making their way through the narrow streets of the center of town. Alice's bare feet screamed in pain as she raced over the cement, sizzling under the sun's brightening rays. Her arms pumped her forward, and her hair billowed out behind her as she safely, and quickly, made her way down a steep street hill. At the bottom, before she could even register what was happening, she found face being entangled in a mess of dark purple hair.

"Settle down there, Alice. You'll sprout wings the faster you run." A feminine voice teased. Alice spat out some loose strands of hair and pulled back, realizing she'd run right into her good friend Vivaldi. Luckily Vivaldi was no pushover, and she easily withstood Alice's harsh impact. Scratching her head, said woman asked with vague curiosity, "What's got you so excited, anyway?"

Wordlessly, Alice grabbed her friends hand and again made her way through the mass of people, this time going slower to allow the other girl to keep up. Vivaldi began to reel out questions like crazy, not quite pleased with the sudden actions. Finally, after her questions went ignored, she gave out an indignant snort and stomped her foot, refusing to move. Stumbling forward, Alice pouted and turned back to see what the holdup was.

"Alright, alright, I'll tell you what happened…" She lifted her eyes to the sky for a moment, pondering the way to go about the story. In the end, she decided to condense it all, in order to save time. "My sister's kidnapped. Now let's go!" Vivaldi's eyes bulged out of their sockets, but she didn't say anything back for a while.

"Do you know who she was taken by?"

"I have a feeling this loser with a ship and a sidekick bunny kidnapped her." Alice groaned, Elliot's image flashing in her mind. How could she be so naïve? Sure, he was sort of cutely shy, but that was definitely no reason to not suspect him. He probably just came up with the story that Blood wanted to meet her so he could get up close and figure out which of the sisters he had to abduct. They had the absolute perfect motive for payback. After all, what good is a Captain without his crew? Or, in this case, what good is a Captain without his crew able to do much for him. Alice could only pray Blood actually was at Starbucks so she could find him and kick his sorry butt.

While Alice was lost in thought, Vivaldi laughed at the suggestion. "Oh, yeah, I heard you slugged a few poor souls. Good job. Seeing as I have nothing better to do with my life, I'll join you in this act of revenge. Just lead the way, boss."

The two continued on, an aura of intimidation emitting off them as they stalked the streets. Rumors rippled through the people as they approached their destination. Neither girl paid them mind, although it was a little disconcerting for Alice that they were speaking of her as though she were a problem child of some sort, or a pro-wrestler. She couldn't figure out which scenario she disliked more. She stepped up to the doors and swung them open, glaring about the room in search of her prey. Eyes lowered and voices hushed, fully understanding what business she now had with the Captain. Blood sat in the farthest corner of the café, humbly sipping at his drink while Elliot drummed his fingers against the table. He glanced up and beamed, seeing Alice standing at the front of the shop. He failed to see her harsh scowl from such a distance, and got up to wave.

"Over here!" Noticing Elliot's rather obvious beckoning, Alice muttered something under her breath and stormed over, Vivaldi close behind. The former then set her hand on the tabletop in front of Blood, who calmly set down his drink and looked up at the young woman in fascination. At first Alice was a little taken aback by his appearance; she previously thought he might be some old man with a beard and a parrot on his shoulder, but she was most definitely wrong. He was rather young and beardless. He had jet black hair that seemed to fray out at the tips, and narrowed icy-blue eyes. There was also the fact that he didn't seem at all perturbed by her unfriendly entry.

"You must be the girl I've heard so much about. Alice Liddell, is it? A pleasure to meet you." He stood up and she winced a bit under his height, but stood her ground. "I am Blood Dupre, commonly known as Captain Blood." Vivaldi seemed to stop functioning all together at the sight of Blood, so Alice took it upon herself to speak for the both of them.

"I feign no interest in who you are, _Blood_, so spare me the formalities. I'm here to talk business." Elliot, from his seated position, nervously exchanged a look with his boss and quickly looked away. Blood, on the other hand, turned to Alice again.

"I see. Then please, take a seat. We'll talk." The two girls took seats on the opposite side of the booth. "Who might this be?" Blood gestured to the purple haired lady.

"Vivaldi…" the girl in question answered cautiously, blatantly distrustful of the two men before her. Blood nodded and then gently coughed into his hand.

"What would you like to discuss, Miss Liddell?"

Alice's eye twitched at the sound of her name being said, but she managed to give a cool reply. "I'd like to talk about my sister. Where is she?"

Elliot's ears perked up. "You mean Lorina? Did something happen?" Alice felt guilty for having to accuse him of being a part of the conspiracy, especially since he sounded so sincere in asking, but she had no choice.

"I know you two took her, I'm not stupid. But if you think that I'm going to just sit back and let you hold her ransom, think again. Now we can either do this the easy way or the hard way. Which do you prefer?" She looked back and forth between the two men challengingly, and the crowd that magically formed around their table waited in anticipation.

"We do not have your sister." Blood stated flatly, a truly bewildered expression concerning his face. Vivaldi impatiently piped up after him.

"Where else would she be, then? There's nobody else in the whole town that would have reason to take her."

"Then it must be that nobody in town abducted her." Blood responded, almost entirely detached from the subject. Alice and Vivaldi gave shocked looks, having never thought of the possibility. Elliot began to take into consideration other pirate crews and gangs in nearby areas.

"Maybe the The Jolly Cheerios had something to do with them. They're a pretty callous group." Falling back into her seat, Alice put a finger to her lips and attempted to straighten things out in her head.

"'The Jolly Cheerios?' They sound like a bunch of rambunctious kids with wooden swords." Vivaldi sighed, making patterns on the tabletop with her index finger. Elliot swiftly shook his head, frowning.

"The name doesn't sound so threatening, but they can be a little scary. Last I heard, they wrecked a handful of their finest ships and had to make repairs on all of the hulls. I'm almost positive it put them in a bad spot with money. Your family is sort of wealthy, right Alice?" She gave a nod. "Maybe they heard about you and figured they could take your sister hostage."

"That's awful!" Vivaldi whispered, looking to her friend for any sign of what to do next. "What do you think? Should we go in search of these guys?"

Alice looked to Vivaldi, then Elliot, until her gaze finally landed on Blood. It softened significantly from before, but she was still angry that this all had to happen. "You promise you had nothing to do with this?" Blood gave a short bout of laughter and mockingly placed his hand over his heart. With a sincere tone, he assured the girl he would never take a man, or woman, hostage without good reason.

"As disappointed as I am with you accusing me of preforming such an act, and for beating up my good men, I see no reason to have taken your sister in the dead of night."

Satisfied, Alice nodded and motioned for Vivaldi to sit up and exit the booth. The two slipped out, but just before they were to take their leaving Elliot called back.

"Wait, you're leaving? You only just got here!"

"Well, yeah we're leaving. I know I said to meet you, and I did, just not in the way you would've liked. I apologize, but I really need to find my sister. She could be hurt!" Elliot's ears laid flat in guilt until an idea came to him.

"Then let me assist you. You don't mind, do you boss?" Alice frowned, about to convince the rabbit-eared man to stay behind when Blood added his own opinion.

"I think it'd be best if we both escorted the young ladies to their destination. After all, Elliot did tell you how dangerous these men are, yes? Despite your tough attitude, I'm not so sure they'll fall so easy to your punches." Vivaldi rolled her eyes, motioning the others to get a move on. And so all four set out on their new adventure. To the rest of the town, it was definitely a sight for sore eyes. Captain Blood was usually hidden away on his ship or some office somewhere, being the excellent privateer he was, and the other three were always off doing their own thing. Even though they were good friends since Alice first arrived, she and Vivaldi were never really out and about together. Outside of school, they each attended to their personal lives.

"So where are these '_cereal' _killers?" Vivaldi asked, her lip trembling at her own pun. Alice snickered and Elliot smiled. Unenthusiastically, Blood explained how they resided on the edge of the land a few miles south of their current location.

"You're making us walk all the way there?" Alice complained, staring in angst at her feet. They were all gritty and dirty and red from the excessive amount of running she did to get to Starbucks on time. Elliot finally noticed this and panicked.

"What are you doing, dressed like that?"

"I woke up like two minutes before I left the house to come and meet you guys; I was a little preoccupied by all that occurred to get dressed properly." She hissed in defense. Vivaldi beside her smirked and grabbed Alice's shoulder, veering her off to the side towards a clothing store.

"We'll be right out, boys!" She yelled over her shoulder. Awkwardly, Blood and Elliot stopped walking and stood outside the store, observing the pedestrians.

"So why did you decide to help out?" Elliot inquired, watching the two girls argue over which new shoes and outfit Alice would wear.

"I did it to clear myself of blame, mostly. However I will say little Miss Alice is quite a fiery young lady. It'll be interesting to see how this all works out, assuming we rescue her sister in time." Elliot rubbed his arm at the thought of them not finding Lorina in time. What if she's already dead? No—he couldn't be so pessimistic. It wasn't in his nature.

"Ah! You know what else? You and Vivaldi sort of look alike." Blood now looked at his First Mate in surprise.

"I don't see it, but I guess I may take your word for it." Right on cue, the girls strode out of the store with Vivaldi looking happy as can be, and Alice sulking in her grasp. She was now wearing nicer, more moderate clothes and gym shoes.

"Now if you'll stop whining, let's get a move on!" They set off again, approaching the edge of town. It was silent, with neither side having much to say. They made small talk, occasionally mentioning something of significance that happened to them in recent times.

"Um…" Alice leaned forward to peer over Vivaldi's front. "So what happens if we're outnumbered, or something?"

Blood looked forward. "I'll take care of it." Alice's face scrunched up in confusion, and she asked him to clarify. "I have contacts all about the area, Miss. Do not fret. If worse comes to worst, I'll have backup at hand."

"Fancy." Vivaldi commented mockingly, earning a particular look from Elliot, walking on her right side. They walked along the sidewalk, admiring the view of the sea. Alice never realized how close it was. For some odd reason, she felt like hopping on a boat of some sort and just sailing off. There was already so much of the world she hadn't discovered; why not go see the rest of it right now? "So," Vivaldi's smooth voice brought back her attention. "Where's their base, or whatever the word is in pirate-speak?"

"It should be in the next town after this, in Birdsborough. I don't suspect they've moved yet." Elliot replied, pointing lazily to the little port just beyond them.

"Let's get a move on, people," Alice demanded, rushing forward. The other three stared in awe at her sudden increased level of awareness and determination. Vivaldi leaned over and whispered to the other two.

"Wasn't she the one who didn't want to walk…?" After a while of lingering behind the feisty brunette, they caught up. She was waiting by the port's welcome sign, obviously displeased with their pace.

"Time is against us, guys. I'd appreciate a little more fervor here."

"Yes ma'am!" Elliot saluted, not realizing she thought he was being sarcastic. They bounded down the little path to the village and the girls found themselves lost in smell of the ocean breeze. People bustled about the town, setting up carts and opening their shops. Alice guessed that since this was a smaller area, the stores didn't have to open as early as they did in her area. But judging by the amount of people frantically running around, it was a popular tourist area. She didn't have to guess why; the quaint town was so charming she wished she lived in it.

"Look, Alice, more clothing stores. Did you wear out your shoes already?" Vivaldi pointed out, sneering at her friend. Alice huffed and glared at Vivaldi, both oblivious to the approaching man. Instantly, Vivaldi fell back onto the cobblestoned street and hit her head. Alice gasped and rushed to her friends side while Elliot and Blood stopped to inspect the damage.

"Hey, watch it—!" Vivaldi cried, peering up at the offender. She and Alice came face to face with perhaps the most eccentric male they've ever met (save for Gowland).

"Sorry, princess, didn't mean to knock you down." _His hair_. It was an outrageous color of pink, and the piercings only added to the spunky man's outfit. He also had wrapped around his shoulders a striped, fluffy muffler of some sort. It was like a truffula tree mated with a Goth person and had a human child that also somehow happened to be part cat. The boy smiled, extending his hand. "Oh, you two must be new here. I can smell it; you're from uptown, right? Name's Boris. Welcome to Davenport!"

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**AN:** I don't know what I just wrote, but it felt good. Yeah. Also I think it's in my second nature to introduce Boris in the second chapter, or something. I think that happened with my other story. Not sure. So, uh, if you see any mistakes or whatever, don't hesitate to tell me! I could use some help.  
_The plot thickens. _Sort of.


	3. Making Enemies

**AN:** I told you I'd finish the chapter! I'll delete the Author's Note later. For now, enjoy!  
**EDIT:** Okay, for some reason it was showing a different document instead of the one I uploaded, so here's to hoping it actually works this time...? Yes, I deleted it and updated. Sorry for the inconvenience.

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"Davenport?" Alice repeated, still shell-shocked from the strange boy's sudden manifestation. He nodded, hot pink hair bouncing with the movement of his head. He lent a hand to Vivaldi, and she bashfully took it, just as baffled as her friend.

"Yep. You must be new here! You smell different. Not very fishy," the boy named Boris flashed a cheeky grin and stepped back as the girls regained themselves. Curiously, Elliot and Blood strode on over and began to interrogate the strange man.

"Was this man bothering you two?" Elliot started off, looking vaguely annoyed. Alice nervously calmed him down, explaining the predicament while Boris watched in delight.

"What brings you to our humble village?" He questioned Vivaldi, but instead of answering she seemed to be fixated on something atop his head. Again, Alice awkwardly intervened.

"Do you know where the, um, _Jolly Cheerios_ are?" Boris quickly waved his hand, hissing a bit.

"I do, but please mind yourself. We're out in public, you know." Alice flushed and held a hand over her mouth to stop being so conspicuous. Blood sighed and motioned for the odd group of allies to enter a nearby tavern. They loyally followed, spirits high, until they actually stepped foot inside the bar. Alice paled, noticing the dark theme. It was a creaky tavern, with wooden floors that seemed to be rotting. The light was dimmed, and the person playing the piano, although playing beautifully, seemed to be missing a hand. There was also a horrifyingly obvious amount of drunken fights taking place, with fists flying and chairs smashing against the wall. Boris, upon seeing the girls' (and Elliot's) reactions, laughed heartily and announced something over the ruckus.

"Now I know you've never been here before! I grew up here, so this isn't very surprising. Oh…" he frowned and peered over the crowd, standing on his tippy-toes. "But it looks like poor old Avery got slugged. Yikes." Blood surveyed the scene, nearly unfazed, and moved through the combats with ease, aiming to occupy the lonely table by the bar. Once they sat down, Boris opened his mouth to speak again.

"Can I just say that your ears are possibly the cutest things I have ever laid eyes on?" Vivaldi blurted, a pink tinge thinning out across her face. Subconsciously, Elliot reached up to feel his own fuzzy ears and whispered to Blood if his looked okay or not, to which Blood covered his face with the palm of his hand.

"Let's… just get on task, shall we? Now, what of the gang?" Boris leans forward, resting one arm across the table. The others follow his example, so he doesn't have to raise his voice.

"Last I hear, the little snots are camping out in Fort Osley; they lost their old base a while back. Unless you've got excellent sneaking abilities, I don't suggest trying to storm the place. First off," he sat up and raised a finger, looking entirely serious on the matter. "There are four towers, all of which are heavily guarded. The first one connects to one of the cliffs off the port, but they also have a few scouts patrolling the cliff area so nobody can jump from the ledge onto their property. Second," he raised another gloved finger. "There are at least 10 guardsmen on the courtyard, all guarding different doors. Thanks to the lack of vegetation in that particular area, you have nothing to hide behind. It's all out in the open. Third, if you even managed to get inside, there are more guards because the front lobby doubles as a jail, so there are some captives hangin' out there." Alice growled under her breath, suspecting Lorina might be one of the captives. Vivaldi squeezed her shoulder affectionately before turning back to the cat.

"It won't be easy, but I guess we have no choice."

"Yep. Well, we should get going. We want to get there before nightfall, do we not?" Alice and Vivaldi stood up, sighing, while the three men exchanged befuddled glances.

Blood crossed his arms, "What do you mean, 'we?'" Alice blinked a few times, something odd in her cerulean eyes stirring.

"What do you mean, 'what do you mean?'" She asked right back, as though she didn't understand the question.

"Yeah, aren't you going to help us? You said you would come with because we weren't strong enough to take them on our own!" The purple haired woman snapped, towering over Blood as he remained seated. He returned her gaze with less anger and more serenity.

"I did say I would assist you ladies, but I must ask that you consider what you're getting into. At least wait another day or two so that I may call for backup—"

Alice threw her head back, clutching it in frustration. "I don't have the time to wait, Blood. My sister could be sentenced to the gallows or whatever any minute! She may not be important to you, but she means the absolute world to me. So that's why I'll be going tonight, whether you choose to come or not. Vivaldi?" She turned expectantly to her friend, who immediately backed her up. Elliot didn't choose to speak at this time, worried that his decision wouldn't match Blood's. Realizing it was his call, Blood leaned back in the chair and make an exasperating buzzing sound with his mouth.

"Very well. I could never let a fair maiden go off on her own. Even us_ loathsome_ pirates have our protocols." He motioned for Elliot to take his stand and now attention was returned to the cat-boy at the table. His dull earring half-glinted from the reflection of the lantern beside him.

"You expect me to come, too?"

"It'd be nice." He puffed out his cheek, discontented.

"What's in it for me?"

Vivaldi looked thoughtful, "Do you like tummy rubs?" Boris' laugh was stroppy, and he tugged at the hem of his shirt, which was short enough to expose the lower half of his stomach.

"W-well, they're nice every now and then…?"

"What about bottles of milk?" Elliot demanded suddenly, startling the cat.

"What kind of question is—"

Alice decided to chime in. "Would some catnip do?" Boris gave her a dead look before lashing out, flustered.

"These propositions are absolutely ridiculous! Just because I'm half cat doesn't mean—"

"Would this do?" Blood popped in gruffly, withdrawing a sack of objects from his coat. For a second, Alice pondered how it fit without bulging out, but she didn't bother to ask. The man set the bag on the table and it sagged, revealing an opening. Inside were gold coins. Boris licked his lips happily, anger completely dissipated.

"Yeah. I'm in. Besides, you need me to get you through." His wink sent a shiver of anticipation through Alice and she nodded, jutting out her small hand.

The others shadowed her instance and together they declared. "Let's do this!"

-;

( A while later )

Sneaking through the undergrowth, Boris was able to get close to the cliff without alarming the lookouts. He'd done it plenty of times before, but he never suspected that one day he might actually get into the fort. He strained his ears to eavesdrop, but after hearing nothing of importance being said, he hopped back to the area the others were waiting at.

"4 men over there and they all have guns. How do you want to go about this?" Without a second's notice, Elliot pulled out a beautiful gun with a curved shape to it. It had intricate designs and a long barrel, as compared to the short handle. Seeing Alice's amazed stare, he explained.

"17th century French Flintlock pistol. Beautiful, right?" She nodded, smiling, before Blood got out his own weapon. Boris did the same, leaving the girls empty-handed and feeling somewhat useless. Vivaldi simply told Alice that they had raw fighting power in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"Mm. Let's get going before we lose any more time!" They'd been waiting in the shadows for an hour or two, and since time seemed absent, it was already growing dark, giving them the perfect opportunity to strike. Boris moved forward, showing the others exactly where to step. Finally he dove behind a large bush and set down his gun, gesticulating once more.

"Here's the plan…" they all held their breath. "There is no plan. Now let's roll." Before anyone could even argue, Boris rolled across the ground and retrieved his weapon, firing into the open. Alice stumbled a bit, but she quickly regained composure and flung herself at a guard about to return fire. He yelped, falling back from her attack. Elliot and Blood quickly took part in the struggle, firing their guns at the guards' arms and legs, to only stun them. While Alice and Vivaldi battered a man on the far edge of the cliff, Boris rushed another sentry who was prepared to sound the alarm. He only got half a note in before Boris penitently sunk his teeth into the man's shoulder. Falling back and spitting out small drops of blood covering the edge of his tongue, the teenager hissed and snatched up the whistle, stuffing it in his pocket for later. After another moment of merciless beatings from the group of oddballs, one man yielded.

"Okay, okay! We won't sound the alarm, just please don't kill us!" He begged, raising his hands to the air as if he were being graced by a god's company.

Vivaldi scowled and turned her head grunting, "Some guards you are."

"I'm only doing this to support my family," the pitiful man defended, still teary-eyed.

"Fine. Just tell us how we can get past the boat loads of guards in the base, and we'll let you go." The assaulted men looked at each other, trying to formulate an answer.

"Try jumping onto the ledge of the outlook and hiding behind the tower. Henry here can use his whistle to call the others over and they'll go off into the thrush in search of you guys, not knowing you've already infiltrated the base." The man named Henry waved shyly and held up his whistle. "Be of fleet foot, though. Once they search the area and clear it, they'll be back to stand their guard again and I'll bet they'll be even more on the lookout."

Elliot nodded. "What about you guys?"

Henry shrugged. "We'll say you attacked us and made a run for it once we called the alarm. No big deal." After reiterating the plan, the group jumped off the cliff and onto the ledge of the first tower area. Thankfully, the tower's outside wall was large enough for them to hide behind, and it was directly in front of the area in which they landed. Henry gave them a brief nod and the injured guards scattered across the ground, feigning critical conditions. Weakly, Henry blew at his whistle and the guards stopped their business, looking about.

"What was that?"

"Sounded like trouble. Let's go, men!" The plan was working thus far, with a majority of the sentries rushing to aid their injured companions, and to seek revenge. Still not moving, Alice heard the head of the group call to the others "Search the area!" With a relieved breath, she dared to make the first move. Dropping down to a squat, she inched across the walkway and peered over the ledge to see down into the courtyard. She was more than thrilled to discover the lack of watchmen, with only two lazing around by the door to the lobby.

Without looking up, she waved over her friends to join her, still mindful of the guards on the opposite side of the base, near the second tower entrance. Boris purred in glee, making a comment about how easy this was going to be.

"Careful, now," Elliot warned, walking ahead. "We don't have much time to waste." The others kept in pace, slowing down as they approached the second batch of sentries to fight.

"No plan again?" Vivaldi asked, rubbing her knuckles together. Boris raised an eyebrow, spotting his prey, and grinned.

"Nope."

Sprinting forward, all five allies overwhelmed the guards, who were coincidentally caught _off_ guard, and began their second fight. Exhilarated and blood pumping with adrenaline, Alice swung her fist forward until it collided with the soft cheek of a man. He cried out in pain, blindly swinging his own fist of fury back. Alice gasped and ducked, narrowly missing the smash. Thinking quickly, she grabbed the man by his ankles and yanked him down, causing him to drop his gun. Picking it up, she leered at the male and not-so-gently flipped him onto his stomach with her foot.

Vivaldi was a bit more trained, easily dodging the hits and bullets aimed at her until her component began to run out of stamina. He huffed and charged forward, looking to strike her with his bayonet but he miscalculated and she sidestepped, watching as him ran off the edge of the structure. He seemed to have made the fall by landing on top of a squishy bush, but it was obvious that she had won this round.

In the amount of time it took for the girls to take out their enemies, the men had already wiped out a line of guards who gathered from the third tower entrance and the two that were standing by the lobby door. Realizing their chance, Boris stopped his skirmish with a lookout and flicked his tail.

"Guys, come on! We can get in now!" The others halted in their attacks and quickly ran, leaving the men confused for a moment.

"Wait, they're getting inside. After them!" But it was too late. Being the last to enter, Blood slammed the doors behind him and took a spare rifle to make a temporary lock. Sliding it between the bars, the rifle trembled as the men outside made their attempts to get in. Finally the noise stopped, and the voices faded. Breathing heavily, Alice checked their surroundings, only to receive a devastating blow to her confidence.

"It's pitch black in here!" From somewhere to her left, she could hear Vivaldi's short tempered reply.

"They couldn't have added windows?"

"Eugh. Anyone have a lighter?" Boris moaned, sounding tired already. Elliot was heard fumbling around his coat pockets.

"Of course. I left mine at home this time."

"Tch." Blood ticked. "The one time you choose to quit smoking and we need your lighter. Figures."

Something rustled in the darkness, moving closer and closer. Whatever it was, it slithered across the stone floor, and Alice shook. Trusting her judgment, she moved towards the approximate area where Boris and Vivaldi were.

Something gleamed in the dimness of the lobby, but it was too far away to see clearly. That is, until it popped up again, only in another spot. And it happened again and again.

"It's an ambush!" Alice cried, jumping back in fright. The offenders lurked within the shadows, only their sinister grins seen in the horrible blackness.

"Wh-what are these things?" Vivaldi questioned fretfully, backing into Boris. He stepped in front of her and Alice, glaring into the nearly invisible faces of the assailants.

"They're ninjas," he informed sullenly.

"Oh, you have _got_ to be kidding me."

Boris cracked his knuckles, ready to face his rivals. Alice caught on and gulped. "Don't tell me you're going to try to fight against something you can't see!" She cried out hysterically. He turned towards her, fully aware of the fact that she couldn't quite see his smile.

"One thing about us cats—no matter how human some of us may be, we'll always have the ability to shine when we really have to. Just took me a moment, 'cause my eyes needed to adjust. And since I'm a Cheshire cat, I'm totally awesome when it comes to these things."

"You're crazy, Boris!"

"That I am." With that, he leapt forward, baring his teeth, into the pile of ninjas that were creeping up on the group. Tousling and wriggling his way between the mess of bodies, he stealthily nipped and scratched and pushed at all the right places. Amidst his fighting he decided to narrate.

"Ninjas," he breathed, kicking at one of the assassin's stomachs. "Really do their best when they're in total darkness. It's like a source of vigor for them. They can draw energy from the shadows and use it to strengthen their dexterity and stealth." He panted and grabbed a ninja about to make a jump on Elliot, throwing him against the wall. At the sound of the impact, Alice shuddered and crossed her arms, impressed. If only she could see the results.

After a few more grunts and groans from Boris, the sound of conflict stopped and suddenly the lights flickered on, revealing the aftermath. Boris stood in the middle of the room tattered and a little bloody, but otherwise grinning like a Cheshire cat should. He raised his arms, as if to gloat over his work. "What do you think?" The corner of Blood's lips turned up in a wayward smile.

"Most impressive. You should do this for a living." Boris scratched at the back of his ear, not picking up on the insinuations. Gently moving the bodies of the now unconscious ninjas aside, Vivaldi made her way to the cat to give him a robust clap on the back.

"Your services have been of much use to us. Now you said this lobby doubles as a jail?"

"Mhm."

"Then let's go look for Lorina, Alice!" Eagerly, Alice bounded forward and the two travelled to the other side of the room towards the cells. Boris looked after them.

"Who's Lorina?"

"Alice's sister," Elliot informed, remembering that they never told Boris their reason for coming. "She was kidnapped and at first Alice suspected us of taking her, but we figured the Cheerios might've had something to do with it." Boris' jaw slacked, his eyes wide. "…? What's with that look?"

"Lorina Liddell? No… oh, for crying out loud. She's—"

"Not here!" Alice shrieked. Blood snapped his head to see her running towards them frantically. "My sister isn't here, Blood!" She restated. Boris flattened his ears.

"I was just saying that… If you guys would've told me this earlier, I would had told you that in the beginning!" Vivaldi fumed, grabbing his collar.

"You mean to tell us you know where Lorina was taken?"

"No, but I knew she wouldn't be here! I overheard some punks this morning mentioning something about a girl named Lorina Liddell, and she was being taken to some island something or other…" Vivaldi stood agape before shaking him roughly in her hands.

"What island, Boris?"

"I don't know!"

"Vivaldi, stop that! You're going to choke him!" Alice pried her friend's hands off his collar and he wheezed, brooding.

"Do you… do you know what you've done? The Jolly Cheerios are going to slaughter us. And probably our families too, if they track them down."

"What do you mean?" Alice asked carefully, eying him suspiciously.

"What I mean is we've made enemies of one of the most dangerous crews in the entire country!" Boris shouted, for once sounding entirely furious. Suddenly the door started to shake again, and the rifle began to fall off the handle. Blood glared, pushing the others forward.

"Quick, head up over to the jail cells. There should be a vent in one of them." He grabbed the keys left behind by a careless guard and stormed up to the area while everyone looked for their escape route. Elliot found it first.

"Here!" Blood nodded and unlocked the cell, leading everyone inside. While he and Elliot worked the drain, a tiny mouse scurried up to Alice and sniffed at her shoes. She glanced down and tilted her head in confusion at the creature.

"You lost, little guy? Oh, you're really small. You must've been stuck in here, somehow." She bent over and cupped her hand, allowing the mouse to climb onto her hand. It did and she grinned, standing up and bringing her hand closer to inspect the animal. "It's all right. You can come with us, okay? We're getting out of this joint."

"Got it!" Elliot proclaimed, lifting the grate. Boris made a face and covered his overly sensitive nose, but he agreed to go down first.

Before jumping down he muttered something about this being his own personal hell. He landed with a splash and a howl of disbelief and immediately the others quivered, knowing what it meant.

"Sewage water. Great." Vivaldi drawled, slowly climbing into the vent. Once she was on the ladder, she instead chose to climb down instead of jump, as Boris did. Blood and Elliot went after her, leaving Alice to be last. Safely tucking the baby mouse she found in her pocket, she climbed onto the ladder and pulled the grate with her. With one final look at the door, which was about to burst open, she shook her head and entered the sewage system.

Treading through the waste, nobody said a word. There was honestly nothing to talk about at this point in time. Finally Alice caved in. "I think this the worst day I've ever had in my entire life."

"I think I have to second that."

"Oh hush up, Blood," Vivaldi retorted. "You're probably just mad your suit got trashed." Blood rolled his eyes and fought back the urge to splash her with the water, but he preferred not to get his hands filthier than they were.

"Are we there yet?" Boris asked from the back, his voice strained. Alice thought the situation must've been downright awful for him, and for a moment she felt bad that he was dragged into the whole state of affairs. Until she remembered he knew about Lorina.

"Actually, I think I've found our exit, boys!" Vivaldi said in triumph, staring ahead at a large gate. Elliot looked over her shoulder and frowned.

"Why's it cut open?"

"Because someone in heaven loves us," Vivaldi said simply. Boris rejected this theory.

"Because thugs and all sorts of shady people use these tunnels for dirty business. They usually have small boats and stuff to travel in."

Escaping the disgusting sewage tunnels, the five saw themselves in the backstreets of town, right between two small shacks. On the main street, people made their way to work and began to open up their shops. Alice looked at the sky and saw dawn coming upon them. Wringing his tail, Boris stepped forward.

"Well, that was a bust. Your sister wasn't at the base, the Cheerios are probably looking up and down the coast for us, and we got to take a dip in waste. Anything else you wanted to do before I shoot myself?"

"Get you to take a shower, maybe? You reek." Vivaldi replied hotly, turning her nose away. Boris stuck out his tongue.

"You don't smell of roses either, princess."

Alice laughed, shaking herself a bit. "Let's calm down, guys. We should probably find an inn or something and stay there for a day until we can figure out our next move," she cast a wary glance at Blood and Elliot, sincerely hoping they wouldn't ditch her now. "So any ideas?" Boris stroked his chin.

"Yep. Follow me, ladies. And gentlemen." He led them to a nearby hotel that, thankfully, let them in despite their horrible stench. Alice wasn't surprised to find that while they were walking the main street, most people either covered their faces or pinched their noses with their shirts.

While waiting for the desk attendant to retrieve the room keys, the group waited patiently by the front desk and chatted.

"So you have a ship?" Boris asked Blood and Elliot, beaming.

"Yeah. Blood's the captain!"

"Don't get so excited, Elliot…"

"S-sorry, boss." The girls giggled.

Vivaldi observed Alice for a moment and smiled again. "You'd make a pretty good captain, Alice. You've got a lot of decent qualities about you."

Alice flushed, twirling around her dampened hair. "Me, a captain? I don't think so… I didn't even think pirates existed until I moved here. I don't know the first thing about being a privateer." The others argued, listing all the assets their dear companion possessed while she timorously stared at the ground, absorbing the compliments.

Finally the attendant returned and gave each person their own room key. "You'll find extra towels and toiletries in your bathrooms, in cased you needed them." They gave their thanks and were about to part when the cat stopped them.

Boris gave a shy smile, which Alice found to be completely endearing, and made an offhand request. "Oi, Cap'n!" The others assumed he was referring to Blood, but rather he looked straight into Alice's turquoise eyes. "Mind if I join you in your escapade? I could use a way out of this boring harbor for a while. I promise I won't be a hassle." He winked and lashed his tail about behind him.

Nearly choking on her own spit, Alice was about to refuse when Vivaldi slapped her on the back. "We'd love you have you aboard! Right, Alice?" She didn't respond, but rather shifted the weight between her legs. Taking this as a sort of acceptance, Boris purred and gave Alice a massive bear hug before running off to his room. Elliot and Blood left afterwards, saying that they'll see the girls soon. After that, Vivaldi winked and dashed off to take her shower, leaving Alice alone in the lobby.

She looked down at her room key in despair while her mouse poked its little head out of her pocket. It gazed up at her, squeaking. She pat its head with her pinky finger. Feeling somewhat defeated and excited from the previous night's events, Alice spoke in a soft voice. "Oh, Lorina, where could you be?"

* * *

**AN:** And that's that chapter. I hope you enjoyed and the next one will be soon, I hope. This story's moving along swell! I'll try to introduce someone each chapter, but don't totally count on it. Also, I've hit exactly 10,000 words! Isn't that stellar, guys? And thanks again, guests. You guys really motivate me to write. I appreciate it.

Comments, questions, concerns? Hit me up!


	4. We're Soaring, Flying

**AN: **Sorry for such a long wait! Not too exciting, but hey, Ace is in it! And thanks for all the support!

* * *

"Yuck!" Alice jerked backwards as a small piece of her hair fell onto her lips. Vivaldi laughed, clipping the rest of the hair she was holding. The boys were off parading downtown while the two ladies hung out in the hotel, drinking hot chocolate and having 'girl talks'.

"If you stopped moving your head to give me those goofy looks, you might not end up with a hairball in your stomach," Vivaldi leered, wiggling her eyebrows down at the small girl. Alice pouted and waited for her friend to finish trimming her bangs. After all was said and done, she snagged a hairband and tied up her long hair into a ponytail, and then she lumbered off the bed and slipped into a long sleeve shirt Elliot had given her to wear to bed and jeans. Though the pants were soaked in sewer water, after a few good washes they looked good as new. Vivaldi rolled on the bed and eyed her peer, smirking.

"You're looking rather comfortable today. No dress?"

"Nope, and thank _God. _I left them all at home." She tugged at her sleeves and frowned a moment, remembering something. "That reminds me… I never told my parents where I was going." She sighed and watched as her new mouse friend scurried around the desk. Vivaldi was vehemently opposed to keeping the animal as a pet, but Alice insisted. Though she knew she had to keep it away from Boris. After all, he eyed the poor creature that morning with a devilish smirk. It was pretty frightening.

"Don't worry, Alice! We'll find Lorina and get the two of you back home before you know it." Alice smiled at her friend's attempts to cheer her up and cupped her hand for the mouse to climb into.

"I'm going to go see if I can get a cage or something for this little guy. Want to come with?" The purple haired woman convulsed.

"Eh… no, thank you. I'm going to go to the Library next door and see if I can find anything on islands nearby."

"Good deal. See you later!" With that Alice bounded out the door, ready to tackle on the day. As she pushed through the people on the streets she couldn't help but feel watched. Nervously, she kept glancing over her back as though someone were right behind her, waiting to strike. Against better judgment, she was chased by fears into the backwoods of the town.

She looked down at the mouse again, who was squirming in her hands like he was trying to get away. Suddenly he panicked, scurrying off the tips of her fingers into the grass. Acting quickly, he got up and raced away. "W-wait!" Alice cried, running after him. Thankfully, he was large enough for her to see in the spotted light of the woods.

Without warning, she tripped over an unknown force and landed face-first into a pile of leaves. Light headed, she looked up to find the mouse standing right before her, looking as anxious as she felt. Before she could say anything or recollect herself, someone tapped her back and she yelped, flipping over. Much to her surprise, nobody was there. But when she heard the clanking of metal, she froze and gasped as the tip of a sword touched the back of her neck. She heard an obnoxious bout of laughter and made an attempt to see the attacker.

"What's a little girl like you doing out here?" The man asked, prodding the sword into her neck. Small droplets of blood dripped down and stained her shirt. She licked her dry lips and tried to answer as calmly as she could.

"I-I'm not a little girl. I was trying to keep track of my mouse!" Hearing another small chuckle and a squeal, Alice fumed and craned her neck even more. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the mouse being squeezed in the man's gauntlet. "Hey, let go of him!"

The man sounded surprised. "You like this little guy? But girls are supposed to be afraid of mice! You must be really weird." Much to her surprise, he plopped the creature onto her shoulder and removed his weapon from the surface of her skin. Almost immediately after, Alice turned around and gaped at what she saw.

Mounted atop a large beast with a hawk's head, a lion's body, and some weird tail (oh, and it had _wings_) was a young man donned in a shiny suit of armor. He sheathed his sword and removed his helmet to reveal a handsome face. With his shaggy brown hair falling into his sharp red eyes, Alice couldn't help but give a small blush.

"Who are you?" She asked, no longer threatened by the man. His steed shifted on its… _claws_ and wailed, turning its large head as though searching for anymore intruders. The knight smiled and patted his mount before hopping off to extend a hand to the fallen girl.

"I'm Ace! I live around here, and this is my Gryphon, Lady." Alice's eyes slowly shifted back to the creature.

"Your what named 'Lady'?"

"Don't you know what a Gryphon is?" Ace asked, scratching his back. The girl shook her head ardently, feeling stupider than ever.

"I only just moved to this country a few months ago. I guess I'm still getting used to all the surprises it has to offer…"

Ace grinned. "I see! Well, why don't I show you around?" Alice snapped her gaze back to him, backing away as he came forward.

"Wh-what? No, that's fine! I'll just be getting back to my hotel, now…"

"Nonsense!" With that, Ace picked up Alice and carried her bridal style onto his charge. There, he gently sat her before him and had her gradually take hold of the Gryphon's feathers. "Watch yourself—taking off can be a little rough."

Alice turned around, glaring. "What do you mean a little ro—AUUUUUGH!" She shrieked and buried her head into the creature's neck as it reared up on its hind legs and let out a loud, mystic howl. 'Lady' stretched out her wings and Ace laughed as they began to soar into the trees, narrowly missing a few. Alice, on the other hand, refused to look up until they were airborne.

"Hey, kid, calm down! We're flying now." Ace whispered into her ear. Reluctantly, she looked up and took in the gorgeous view of the country. Along the coast were several different ports, including Davenport, and just further inland lay some villages. Squinting down, she saw off in the distance her own home, sitting atop a cliff, staring out into the sea. Feeling homesick, Alice forced herself to look away.

"Hey, can you take me back to Davenport? I've got to meet up with my friends again."

"Sure, no problem!" Ace whistled and the Gryphon responded by flapping its wings again before diving down to the seaside town. As they descended, Lady slowly drew in her wings and tried to make the landing as easy as possible, without damaging the buildings nearby the library. With expert timing, Vivaldi hopped outside and look to her left, seeing the large creature and Alice dismounting.

For a moment, all was silent before Vivaldi took the initiative to speak. "Why am I not surprised?" Alice flushed, joining her friend again.

"Thanks, Ace! Erm… you too, Lady." She paused. "Oh, I never introduced myself, did I? My name's Alice. Alice Liddell!" Ace gave her a smirk.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Alice!" He tapped Lady and prepared for takeoff once more. "Oh! I hope you find your sister. See you later!" Both Vivaldi and Alice gasped before Alice rushed forward, trying to stop the two from leaving.

"Wait! Wait, Ace, you get back here you bastard!" She screamed, though her voice was drowned out by the sound of Lady's cry. Without hesitation, the two took off and Alice stomped on the Library's ledge, her face turning red. "_ACE!_"

As Alice hollered and cussed out the retreating man with more vigor than an angry bull, Blood, Elliot, and Boris walked up to her. They were all moderately surprised by her rage.

"Whoa there, Alice, calm down. You look like me on a bad day; a _really_ bad day. What's going on?" The trio looked to Vivaldi for answers, though she was rubbing her temples.

"Just… some idiot with a sword and a flying thing apparently dropped Alice off and then as he was leaving shouted something dumb like, 'Good luck finding your sister!' It was pretty weird."

Boris frowned, looking to the sky while Blood rolled his eyes. "Young lady, I highly doubt you shouting every swear word in the English language to the sky when we're in the middle of a busy town will do much to help your case." Enraged, Alice slapped her hand over her mouth and muffled out the rest of her sentences before she could stop.

"Sorry. That just… never mind. Vivaldi, did you find any information on those islands?"

She nodded, beckoning the others inside. They followed and remained in a quiet, single file line when entering the sacred building. Alice tucked her mouse into her shirt pocket and grabbed a seat as Vivaldi took a chair in front of a computer.

In a hushed tone she began to speak, "I couldn't find much on like History of the islands, but I could find their names and some of the stuff that went on in each. Here's the most interesting, and relevant, island I've found. It's called Trinity Key, since there are three distinct beaches. See?" She pulled up a picture. "It looks like a triangle." The gang leaned in closer and read some of the information on the website.

"It says there are a lot of reported gangs to be hiding out there…" Elliot murmured, eyeing a part of the article. "There are also underground systems and cells because people used to send criminals there to hold. You really think the kidnappers would take your sister _there_?" He asked Alice, and she shrugged.

"If they're not the Jolly Cheerios, we have no idea what type of kidnappers they might be. It's a possibility they'd take her to somewhere so…" She glared at the picture of the Key. "_Unsanitary_."

Blood, not taking his eyes off the screen, deadpanned. "You just love getting down and dirty, don't you?"

"Shut it, womanizer."

"Anyway," Vivaldi said loudly, feeling awkward between the two. "When do we want to check this place out?" Everyone exchanged glances.

"How about we go right now?" Alice proposed, grinning madly. Everyone looked at her quizzically, and Boris even groaned.

"_Really?_ I've been out all day. Can't we rest?" Alice stuck out her tongue and set her hands on her hips. Leaning into his face, she leered.

"You're the one who asked to join our 'crew', and since I'm the 'captain', you should listen to me. Look, I'm tired too, but the sooner we find my sister the sooner we can all get back to our regular lives! Now," she grabbed hold of the mouse and zoomed out on the map of the island, in relation to its distance from the mainland. "How do we get there?"

Vivaldi looked at Blood expectantly. "Don't you have a fancy pirate ship that'll sail us over?"

Blood responded coolly, crossing his arms. "One, my ship is at a bigger dock down the coast. Two, I wouldn't let you three within ten feet of it—" Vivaldi, Alice, and Boris glared at him while Elliot chuckled nervously. "And three, that'd be impractical."

"How so?"

"We're approaching a small island with a very large ship. If your sister were there, they'd probably get her out the second we came close. We'll need something a little smaller."

Boris scratched his cheek. "You mean like a raft or something?"

"Either way."

With a long sigh, Alice rolled her shoulders and tried to devise a brilliant plan to somehow sneak her small group onto Trinity Key without compromising their whole mission. Suddenly she snapped her fingers and caught everyone's attention again.

"I've got it! I'll just make Ace give us a lift." Boris flicked his tail.

"You mean the creep with the flying saucer you were yelling at earlier?"

Alice pouted and muttered, "It's a Gryphon, not a flying saucer." Speaking loudly again she continued, "If we go a little later, they won't be able to see us coming. I don't think they'll expect an air raid, either. It's perfect!"

Vivaldi butted in. "That is a good plan, but there's no way we'll fit on that poor thing all at once! Blood's weight will probably crush it!" Blood sneered and whacked her arm with his cane and she hissed, nudging his gut with her elbow.

Ignoring their childish antics, Elliot added his own opinion. "Alice, maybe you and Ace can go yourselves?"

Alice blinked a few times. "What? Why just Ace and I?"

Elliot smiled. "You know him better than us, right? I don't think he'd want total strangers riding his… thing, you know? Besides, he looked like a Knight from the Castle further inland. I'm sure if there's danger, he can protect you."

"I guess that could work." Alice furrowed her brow in thought. "What about you guys?"

"We'll be getting some slee—" Boris' cheerful remark was cut short by Vivaldi giving him a dark look. He looked away and she smiled back at Alice.

"Don't worry, Alice. We'll be standing by. And if she's not at Trinity Key, maybe we can do some more research to see where else she might be."

"Oh, all right." Alice thrust her hand forward, glancing at everyone. "Deal?"

"Deal!" Simultaneously, everyone else added their hand to the pile and they broke up, with Alice trotting out the Library doors. The others went to work, conducting more searches on other locations Lorina might have been kept at. Looking down into her shirt pocket Alice cooed at the small creature sleepily raising its small brown head at her intrusion.

"Come on, buddy. We've got a knight to find."

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**AN: **Aye, it's short, but I'm about to take a nap. I swear, it won't take me so long to upload the next chapter. That's a promise, lads.


	5. Midnight Riders

**AN: **Let's all give thanks to Kingdom Hearts II for giving me inspiration for this, somewhat. Port Royal a-go-go. And for the record, I know Ace should probably differ from his usual demeanor, since I'm trying to experiment with different personalities here, but I can't help but love him the way he is.

* * *

Alice hooted out into the woods and clapped her hands, trying to draw attention as positively as she could without disturbing the settled in woodland creatures. A passing hunter or two would stop and stare, noisily articulating their concerns but she'd assure them she was truly in a right state of mind. "Here, flying saucer!" She called out absent-mindedly before recognizing her mistake. "Er, I mean here Lady. Ace, you can come too, if you want…"

"Haha, can I really?" Alice yelped and jumped a foot or two in the air before she turned to face her stranger. It was none other than the casually clothed knight she had been searching for. He stood next to his tamed creature, leaning against her with a sort of cooled curiosity; his ruby eyes looked over her petite figure while Lady reared on her hind legs, silently stretching her wings. Swallowing her inhibitions, Alice recomposed her form and began to explain her troubles.

"If you don't mind, I'll need a favor from you and Lady tonight—"

Ace winked, slowly dipping his gloved fingers into the collar of his jacket to loosen it in a libidinous manner. "I know we just met, Miss Alice, but I didn't know you felt that way towards me!" Alice held her tongue against her will.

"I'll need you and Lady to help me _fulfill _a _mission_," she continued on, and Ace removed his hand, still smiling. "I'll pay you back later, but for now can you give me a ride to a few islands off the shore?" Remotely disappointed, Ace tapped his wild ride and hopped on, helping his bantam companion to sit in front of him.

"Snuggle up against my lap, if you want." He purred, slinking his arms between hers to grip the mount. Alice seethed and tossed her head back, purposely hitting him in the neck. He choked a bit and whined in retaliation.

"Aww, that was a little harsh, don't you think?" Alice expressed her feelings of wanting payback before they took off. As Lady prepared herself to reach to the skies once more, Alice closed her eyes and thought of her lovely sister's face, smiling. They hovered in the air a moment before racing to the treetops, breaking through successfully without either of the passengers suffered cuts from the branches breaking off. Once she had gotten over the trials of lifting off, Alice moved closer to the creature's large next, which was further away from the knight, and looked back at him.

"I stay up here and watch out for the islands, and you steer to your merry little heart's content, as far away as you can be." He grinned and re-adjusted his hands on the Gryphon, making it so that he was just barely gripping the soft mane. Alice then sighed, "So why did you just accept my proposal before even asking anything?"

"What do you mean?" He asked back, looking directly into her soft blue eyes. She had to force herself to look away for a moment, to at least catch her breath. She then opted to watch the separating woods below.

"What I _mean _is… you just kind of let me hitch a ride without asking why. Aren't you afraid I might be leading you into danger or something? We only just met this morning." Ace gave out a hearty laugh at the recent memory, as though he were experiencing a bout of nostalgia.

"You looked so tiny and angry when I flew off," he jeered. "I could hear your screaming from the castle, I swear." Alice's cheeks flamed and she glared back at him, but he continued on. "In any case, I know you wouldn't be 'leading me into danger'. You don't have the heart for it!"

"Eh?"

"That, and I figured the second you started navigating the woods again, you'd be looking for me. I saw you when I was scouting out the place. You have some very strange hand gestures, if I might add… Lady doesn't respond to those kinds of calls. She probably won't respond to being called a 'flying saucer', either."

Alice cut in again, sharply. "I get it, thanks." Then it dawned on her, for the second time that day. "Earlier you said something along the lines of 'I hope you find your sister'… how did _you _know she went missing?" Ace looked at her dumbly, his chestnut colored hair softly waving in the growing moonlight of the canopy. A dull moment passed between the two before he burst out into laughter again.

"You really are something! Jeez, Alice, news spreads fast in provincial towns like these. Your family is wealthy, last I heard; a wealthy person being kidnapped doesn't actually happen as often as you think. When it does, it's usually a pretty big deal. Most of the affluent populaces hire guards and watchmen. The King and Queen have two guards standing by their bedroom every day." Alice grimaced, trying to imagine two strangers constantly watching her door, listening to her volcanic snoring.

"But they're a different story," she argued, "because they're the royal family. They have a right to protection, or something. By the way, I didn't know they even lived here or were anything more than figure-heads. I just thought I'd say that, because most monarchial families I know of have lost their power by this day and age." Ace nodded and leaned in a bit.

"That's right, but this country works differently than yours. Our King and Queen still retain a great deal of power and control. Nobody knows why, but as long as this family's bloodline remains intact with the courts, everything will be just fine. We have a very humble family in charge, though you might not know, seeing as you probably haven't visited the castle yet!"

Alice, now incredibly intrigued, changed her position on the mount so she could face Ace better without straining her pale neck. "Do they govern a lot, or make laws? Sorry if I'm not good with the terms. I've never known much about monarchs, to be honest, so I don't know how they work."

Ace removed his hand from Lady's mane and ran it through his hair smoothly. "Well, let's see! They can be legislators, though I don't know if the King really does that anymore. They're kind of progressive, and stuff…" Alice sighed, shaking her head in disparagement.

"How can you not know a thing about the family you're serving?"

He shrugged his shoulders lazily. "I'm just a knight! I don't really care about politics. I do what they tell me to, and that's about it." Ace suddenly lights up in enthusiasm and leans forward. "But I can tell you that they're really nice people! In fact, the only reason I'm so loyal to them is because the Queen 'adopted' me when I was a kid!" In shock, Alice tucked away a strand of loose hair.

"Really? Wait, tell me what happened!" Ace ordered Lady to hover in the cool evening air so he could properly unveil his tale.

"My parents were taken away when I was really little; Father was held hostage by a rivaling kingdom for army duty, and Mother was forced to work as a chambermaid for the same monarchy. I would have been taken, too, but I was staying with a relative at the time, and so they lied about having a child, lest they'd fetch me and probably take in my family member, too. My relative, not knowing what to do, went to the royal family in a plea. See, she was a veteran and worked for the King and Queen all her life, so as a small favor she asked them to provide me shelter until the other empire stopped abducting families to build their army. The Queen, as kindhearted as she is, decided to just take me under her wing herself, and so I was groomed into the life of a knight."

"You were forced to work for them?" Alice questioned dubiously, upon hearing the last statement. Ace quickly shook his head.

"Nah. I asked to serve them. I figured it was the least I could do, since they gave me such a nice home. The princes and princesses even treated me like their own brother; I was really lucky to have been given such a chance!" He finished off and leaned back again. His smile revealed his teeth, and Alice found them to be whiter than the crescent moon rising over their domain. She took in his story, warmed by the anecdote, until she thought about Ace's captured parents. _He was an orphan, because his parents were kidnapped. A child having to live on without a loved one…_ Her expression turned sour, Alice dipped her head and tapped Lady with her leg, allowing the animal to fly again.

The pair glanced over the horizon, each admiring the view of the town at nighttime. Suddenly, Alice a chain of islands came into view and Alice pointed eagerly at them. "There!" She exclaimed, drawing Ace's attention to the keys. "That's where we need to land. Just be really careful not to arouse suspicion."

"Is this some sort of top-secret mission?" Ace inquired, gently ordering the mount to hover down to the first island. Alice nodded, determined to strike. For a brief moment she felt bad for not telling Ace what she planned on doing, but she figured he would playfully scold her and try to take over the mission himself. _He probably doesn't know how good at fighting I am._

They land in the brush of the first key, with its sandy beaches tinted some strange, green color. Ace tied Lady's reign to a tree and the two set off, wandering blindly across the small island. "I don't see anyone," Alice remarked, looking for tracks in the sand, but to no avail. The first island was incredibly deserted. Dashing across the bridge linking the lands, Alice hurried over to the second island, feeling a sick anxiety takeover. Ace stumbled after, confused as he observed the younger girl searching through the palm trees.

"What'cha doing there, Alice?" He inquired. She decided to ignore him before slipping through the trees. As she scoured the clearing she wound up in for any clues to her sisters possible whereabouts. It wasn't for a few moments until she recalled Elliot's warning: _He said there was a system of underground tunnels beneath the keys. If I could just find an entrance of some sort…_

"Hey, Ace!" She beckoned, and he came to her aid, bubbly and happy as ever.

"What's up?"

"Help me look for a trapdoor or entrance to the passageways beneath the beaches, will you?" For a moment the knight was a little confounded, but a second later he jogged off and began to hunt with Alice for the entry. Roaming in a circular pattern around the clearing, Alice strained her eyes to see any outline of a door in the sand, though the trees gave her minimal moonlight to work with. Finally, she stomped on something wooden and gasped. "I think I found it!" She whispered loudly enough for her companion to hear. He returned to her and crouched down, knocking on the area around her feet. The same sound echoed and they shared a victorious grin before Ace cleared away the light blue sand to find a hatch.

"You're pretty inquisitive, Alice. I could sure use your help on some quests from the Royal Family," he bragged. The brunette rolled her eyes and daintily stepped onto the first step of the stairs hidden underneath the door.

"Go tell that to someone who's interested, knight. Now come on; we have no time to lose!" The staircase was short, but winding. Thankfully it provided virtually no noise from their shoes whilst clambering down, and Alice was the first to discover a torch to light the way. "I can hear some music of some sort down here. I thought this was like a jail underground?" She looked to Ace in question, but they both knew he could afford no answer to her troubles.

The couple edged closer to the source of the noise, hanging tight against the navy blue clay walls of the cave. The narrow strip burrowed out as they came to a large opening to a strange, quaint little pub concealed under the island. Disbelievingly, Alice stopped before she could be seen and perceived the happy drinkers in all their partying glory.

"Wh—what the heck is this? They look so…"

Ace smiled, looking over her shoulder. "Haha, that looks like fun! We should go and say hello."

Alice shuddered, "No way! I am not going to parading in on their festivities. I've dealt with enough hoodlums and enemies so far to realize how stupid an idea that would be." But Ace was already on the move. The bartender, keen on welcoming the newly arrived guest, yelled in celebration and began to pour a drink. Ace nodded gratefully and sat himself against the bar, signaling for Alice to join him. She made a move to sneak to his side, but they failed to notice a stranger, wielding a recently sharpened knife, approaching the black-and-red clad knight until he held the blade against his tanned neck. Alice, dismayed, moved back to her position at the edge of the entry and watched, fearing the worst was about to occur.

The stranger snarled, "Hey knight. _Who_ in the _hell _are you, and what are you doing at my pub?"

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**AN:** Yeah. Fun times with Alice and Ace. And people in bars. Sorry for such a late update. I really like this story, too.


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